Green Team

In April of 2010, the Hoboken City Council passed a resolution supporting the City’s participation in the Sustainable Jersey certification program. Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. By supporting community efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental equity, Sustainable Jersey is empowering communities to build a better world for future generations.

All communities participating in the Sustainable Jersey program must establish a Green Team. Green Teams provide the leadership to develop plans, implement programs and assist with educational opportunities that support the creation of a sustainable community. In August of 2011, the Mayor and City Council formally established the Hoboken Green Team by resolution. The Hoboken Green Team is comprised of volunteers who meet monthly to focus on completing actions required for Sustainable Jersey certification, as well as other volunteer initiatives to promote environmental sustainability in our community. Members of the Green Team are appointed by the Mayor. To express interest in joining the Green Team, please email jgonzalez@hobokennj.gov and complete the application form for appointment to citizen advisory boards and commissions.

Sustainable Jersey certification is a prestigious designation for municipal governments in New Jersey. Municipalities that achieve the certification are considered by their peers, by state government and by the experts and civic organizations in New Jersey, to be among the leading municipalities in sustainability. The certification is a rigorous and meaningful designation. All actions taken by municipalities to score points toward certification must be accompanied by documentary evidence and is reviewed. The certification is free and voluntary.

Green Business Recognition Program

The Hoboken Green Team recognizes that local businesses play an important role in the sustainability and environmental responsibility of our City. We aim to build a thriving, active community of like-minded individuals and businesses committed to progressive, responsible environmental values; a community dedicated to the goals of improving and protecting our city, our residents, our businesses and our planet.

Why become a Hoboken green business? Hoboken Green Businesses will receive a Hoboken Green Business sticker to display at their storefront; a digital version of the Hoboken Green Business sticker to post on their website; recognition as a Hoboken Green Business at the 2018 Hoboken Green Fair; a press release that will be distributed via the City Nixle emails, website, and social media; a “Green Business Spotlight” on the Hoboken Green Team Instagram page; a free space at the 2018 Hoboken Green Fair; and recognition as a Hoboken Green Business on the Hoboken website.

In order to qualify for the Green Business Recognition Program, please complete the pledge and tell us what your business does to promote environmental sustainability.

Green Team Members

Chief Sustainability Officer (Green Team Coordinator), City of Hoboken

Jim Doyle

City Council

Marty Anderson

Resident

Garry Brozyna

Resident

Katie Fritz

Resident

Andrew Holloway

Resident

Tige Anderson

Resident

Michael Tennaro

Resident

Josh Wiener

Resident

Lauren Zucker

Resident

Shane Deaton

Resident

Jeff Dworzanski

Resident

Max Ferreira

Resident

Rachel Hodes

Resident

Angela Nappi

Resident

Voula Papadopsulos

Resident

Evangelina Pena

Resident

Shawn Seiden

Resident

Liz Sperman

Resident

Noelle Thurlow

Resident

Michael Watson

Resident

Janet Wong

Resident

Green Team Meeting Calendar

Green Team meetings are held from 6:30 – 8:00 PM in the Basement Conference Room at City Hall:

2018

January 22

February 26

March 19

April 23

May 21

June 18

July 16

August 20

September 24

October 22

November 19

December 17

Green Team Challenge

Love our mile-square city? Help make it GREENER! Take the Hoboken Green Team Challenge by pledging to purchase locally grown produce, use reusable bags, AND shop, dine, and support local Hoboken businesses. Click here to take the Hoboken Green Team Challenge

Mayor’s Wellness Campaign

The City of Hoboken is a member of The Mayors Wellness Campaign, an initiative of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute in partnership with the NJ State League of Municipalities. As a member of The Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, Hoboken promotes health in the following domains: youth; seniors; employees; and, communities. The City and Hoboken Green Team work to champion healthy and active living, and to improve the overall health of our community.

Green Team Wellness Wednesdays Series

The City of Hoboken and the Hoboken Public Library have teamed up for the second annual Wellness Wednesdays series to help you meet your goals of having a healthier lifestyle in 2018.

This educational series will provide free community workshops one evening per month featuring local Hoboken practitioners discussing a variety of health and wellness issues.

Hoboken Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Increasingly, food for the Hoboken community comes from more distant sources, with serious consequences such as the loss of older local food system infrastructure and threats to the survival of many U.S. farms. At roughly eight calories of energy to produce one typical food calorie, today’s food system is both energy-intensive and inefficient.

The Hoboken Green Team seeks to build local food systems that support local Hoboken retailers and nearby New Jersey Farms. Local food systems are networks of food production and consumption that aim to be geographically and economically accessible and direct.

Sustainable Jersey Solar Challenge

The City of Hoboken has partnered with EnergySage to offer the Solar Challenge to residents and businesses. EnergySage is an online solar marketplace that was developed with funding and support from the US Department of Energy. This free service will help you learn about and shop for a solar energy system with absolutely no obligation to make a purchase in the end. To participate in this great program, simply visit our new website, www.hobokensolar.org.

The great news is the more than 50,000 New Jersey homeowners have gone solar and are saving money and the environment already. An average homeowner in New Jersey saves enough money each year from reduced electricity bills and other incentives to pay back their initial investment in just 7 years. And, you can go solar with no money down through various loan and leasing programs!

Sign up today for some free solar quotes and help us spread the word about the Hoboken Solar Challenge today.

Green Team Sustainability & Resiliency Education Series

Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken Green Team have partnered with the Hoboken Public Schools Green Team to launch a public education series for residents, businesses, students, parents, and teachers. The events cover various sustainability or resiliency topics.

Reusable Bag Education Program

Help Hoboken BAG it. You can be the change that Hoboken needs to reduce consumption of single-use disposable bags.

Did you know?

On average, one person uses 500 single-use disposable bags per year.

4 billion single use shopping bags are used annually in NJ and 102 billion are used nationwide.

Windblown plastic bags degrade our City and the Hudson River.

80% of the plastic and trash that finds its way into our oceans comes from the land.

12 million barrels of oil are used annually to make the plastic bags that Americans consume.

The Green Team is on a mission to educate our community about the benefits of using reusable shopping bags. What can you do to reduce the environmental impacts of single-use bags and make Hoboken greener?

Avoid Single Use Bags (paper, plastic, etc.)

Bring reusable bags to the grocery store.

Keep a small reusable bag in your purse, backpack or car for daily use.

Use a Hoboken Green Team reusable shopping bag!

Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken Green Team are distributing 1,500+ free reusable shopping bags to Hoboken residents. 700+ bags were distributed at Shop Rite and ACME in November 2016, and many more will be distributed at the 2017 Green Fair.

Green Fair

The City of Hoboken hosted its 5th Annual Green Fair on Saturday May 14, 2016 from 11am to 4pm at Church Square Park, located at 4th Street and Garden Street. The Hoboken Green Team organized the fair, which featured green businesses, non-profit organizations, artists, and food vendors whose mission aligns with environmental sustainability. Each year, the Green Fair encourages sustainable lifestyle choices for our community, raises awareness regarding environmental issues, and demonstrates how consumers can reduce their impact on the earth by selecting sustainable, eco-friendly products and services.

Storm Drain Mural Project

The Hoboken Green Team developed a plan for a series of murals to be painted around storm drain inlets near some of the schools in the City. Students had the opportunity to design and paint environmentally themed murals around storm drains, utilizing the sidewalk surrounding the drain as a canvas.

The Green Team hopes that these murals will catalyze positive change in our community, generating interest in environmental issues and promoting environmental stewardship. By turning storm drains into attention-grabbing pieces of artwork, the Hoboken Green Team aims to raise awareness of the harmful effects of litter, gasoline, oil, grass clippings, road salt, and other types of pollution on our waterways. It is important that local citizens realize these pollutants are generated by everyday human activities, and can be carried by rain and snowmelt to storm drains. These murals inform the community that storm drains collect water and carry it to local streams, lakes, and rivers, correcting the misconception that storm drains always lead to wastewater treatment plants. By educating Hoboken residents about this connection, we hope to reduce pollution and improve water quality in Hoboken. Overall, we aim to increase environmental awareness, promote water pollution prevention activities, and encourage environmental and watershed stewardship – all while enhancing the urban beauty of Hoboken, covering impervious surfaces with art and improving the quality of public spaces.

On Earth Day, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Councilman Jim Doyle and the Hoboken Green Team congratulated the first place winners from Hoboken High School and Wallace Elementary School in the Earth Day storm drain mural contest. Students from seven Hoboken schools participated in the contest, and over twenty storm drains across the City were painted by students. The winners were chosen by the Hoboken Green Team, including Jeffrey Train and Elizabeth Balladeres, who coordinated the projects with all seven schools and the Hoboken Public Schools Green Team, led by Chris Della Fave. Additional schools participating in the storm drain mural contest included Hoboken Charter School, Connors Elementary School, Calabro Elementary School, Hoboken Dual Language Charter School, and The Hudson School.

The Hoboken Public Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization created to raise funds for the Hoboken Public Schools, donated supplies to some of the participating schools, including non-toxic eco-friendly paint.

Green Buildings Walking Tour

The inaugural Hoboken Green Buildings Walking Tour in 2013 showcased sustainability in building design and function, from LEED® certified buildings, to composting at Hoboken Community Church and renewable energy production at Stevens Institute of Technology. On the tour visitors experienced Hoboken’s vibrant community, innovative architecture and saw some of Hoboken’s newest sustainable building stock.

The tour included two parts, a self-guided tour led by the Hoboken Green Buildings Guide which provided descriptions of each building and an easy-to-follow walking tour map to each address; followed by a guided tour at the Babbio Center at Stevens Institute of Technology which provided an overview of Sustainability Programs at Stevens, including solar energy and cogeneration systems, a planned Green Roof, and the award-winning 2012 Stevens Solar Decathalon House.

Green Team Volunteer Days

Spring Fling 2017

The Hoboken Green Team and Shade Tree Commission organized a community-wide cleanup. Nearly 500 community members participated in Spring Fling, volunteering to complete more than 40 projects at over 20 locations around the City.

Earth Day Cleanup 2016

The Hoboken Green Team organized an Earth Day Cleanup with the Hackensack River Keeper to pick up litter in the area around the Hudson Bergen Light Rail, near 9th Street.

The Hoboken Green Team seeks to establish humane, efficient, and effective solutions to companion animal (cat and dog) issues in the City. As a first step, Green Team members volunteered at the Liberty Humane Society, supporting local organizations that further an enhanced community quality of life for animals and people, promote responsible pet ownership, and end animal cruelty.